Looking at accident counts without context is kinda pointless.Karl wrote: No need really, a Diamond is safer without CAPS than a Cirrus is with it, especially the Jet A1 versions with the lower risk of fire.
During a quick review of fatal accidents from October 2006 to present I found 13 DA42, 20 DA40, 29 SR20 and 84 SR22. I tried to separate out the Avgas from Jet A1 DA 40 accidents but it was impossible to do reliably.
Someone I spoke to said that a stalled DA40 actually descends slower than a Cirrus with the CAPS deployed. Wouldn't fancy trying it though.
I have flown in many aircraft whilst wearing a parachute and the briefing was always that the only reasonable time to use it was in event of a fire or major structural failure. Using CAPS in event of a fire wouldn't be much fun and structural failure is few and far between if the aircraft is operated correctly.
To show how pointless; according to flightaware.com; there are 40 SR22s flying now and being tracked. There are 6 SR20s flying. There are 2 DA40s and 1 DA42.
Who ever did the number crunch comparing the DA-40 stalled descent rate to a Cirrus likely needs more instruction and some basic math skills (yes, I am being cheeky). By definition, a stalled wing means no lift. If you have ever stalled the DA-40 and held it for a three count you will see an amazing drop in altitude (was rather fun actually). Same in any plane, lose lift and the plane comes down. Now there have been periods of people talking about the DA-40 parachute mode, with flaps up, trim all the up, and power to idle; will give you between six and 12 knots vertical component and and roughly a 50 knot horizontal component. This combined speed is about five times greater than the Cirrus with an average of 11 knots vertical plus what ever the prevailing wind speed is; so unless you comparing flying in a tornado, it is no real comparison.
If you are discussing military aircraft and parachutes, there is a reason for such a briefing. The exit from a military craft in a parachute is a high risk maneuver, and the military does not want the plane crashing into a civilian environment. The whole plane chute for a Cirrus is a completely different animal. First it is not a high risk maneuver, second the vast majority of pilots are not "professional" and constantly being trained (therefore the risk of a crash landing with injury is significantly higher), third the downside risk to others on the ground is rather small with the whole plane coming down (they make a surprising amount of wind nose, and really obvious with the huge chute).
Tim